The Crest of a Master

by PizzaSpino

When the Digital World is in peril it doesn't just turn to a regular group of kids. It turns to a group of kids raised in a world centralized around raising and battling monsters! Join Ash and Agumon as they make new friends, battle an army of monsters, and hopefully save both of their worlds from an ancient evil.

8. Seadramon Swims In

Disclaimer: The following is a work of fan fiction written by someone who enjoys creature collector franchises. Pokémon is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, The Pokémon Company, Creatures Inc. and Satoshi Tajiri. Digimon is owned by Bandai, WiZ, Toei Animation, and Akiyoshi Hongo. If you want to support the official releases, worry not. Lord knows there is plenty of merchandise to choose from.

Listening to as I buzz off: Armogohma Battle First Half (Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess)

The Crest of a Master Chapter 8: Seadramon Swims In

Mysterious Jungle

So far, Ash and Misty's journey to the temple had been going well. Not easy, just well. Since leaving Phishing Bay the group had made their way through some grassland and into a dense jungle. Along the way they camped, forged, and fought wild Digimon. Which is to say Greymon scared away all the wild Digimon.

At first Misty was afraid that the quest would be Shellmon battle after Shellmon battle, but most of the wild Digimon they bumped into were rookie level at best. One look at the towering theropod was enough for even the scrappiest of Digimon to decide to let the travelers through their territory without a fight.

This lack of battles allowed Ash and Misty to just relax and talk. Their conversations tended to revolve around three different topics.

Topic 1: Pokémon

"So why do you want to be a Water Pokémon Master?" Ash asked while he watched Misty clean and polish her Staryu's ruby.

"Because it is the best type!" Misty gushed. "They have more resistances than weaknesses, there's a wide range of species since most of the globe is covered with water, and can learn a wide variety of moves that can help you get around on your travels."

As Misty listed off the pros of water Pokémon, her Staryu began to puff out its middle. Most trainers wound not be able to understand this as Staryus' had a unique anatomy, but Misty had been working with this evolution line long enough to know this was her friend just soaking in the praise.

Misty wrapped her arms around the starfish in a gentle hug. "Not to mention water Pokémon are the prettiest and most graceful Pokémon around."

There were other reasons Misty favored water types, but those were more personal.

Topic 2: Camping

While it looked as though Ash had received some training on wilderness survival, he could still use some help. So, as an experienced traveler and trainer, Misty leant him her expertise.

"Ash, we shouldn't set up our tent here," Misty warned. "The elevation is too low. It'll get cold."

"Well maybe I want it cold," Ash responded. "Maybe last night was too warm."

"Are you crazy?" Misty shuddered. "How can you like sleeping in the cold?"

"Just toss on a coat!" Ash rebutted.

"Just sleep outside of your sleeping bag!" Misty fired back.

This argument went on for a while.

Topic 3: The Digivices

Misty frowned at the image before her. She had taken out her Digivice to check the map function and find a good spot to meet up with "RockSolid," but this guy wasn't making it easy. If the map was anything to go by he was now further into the desert then he was before.

"What is this guy thinking?" Misty muttered. "He's closer to the temple, but he's further from us. And any good source of food or water."

"Maybe he's from Orre?" Ash suggested. From his spot up front he was more focused practicing his riding skills then navigating. "That place is supposed to be mostly dessert, right?"

"I would think that people who live in deserts would know better than to go further into the desert," Misty frowned.

Greymon lifted his head slightly to peer at the party on his back. "Did you try messaging him?"

"Yeah, but he's not being very helpful. He keeps saying things like 'this will save time' or 'don't worry I'm good a foraging.'" Misty sighed. "I just don't think he should be taking these risks."

"Hmm," Ash folded his arms. "Maybe he has a ride?"

"He did say that he's been riding one of his Pokémon, but," Misty began before being cut off by Ash.

"He's a trainer too?" A thoughtful look came over Ash's face. "Then maybe he's got a desert Pokémon, like a Flygon or a Hippowddon to ride."

"Maybe," Misty conceded. She still didn't like the idea of someone venturing into what Betamon informed her was a death trap. Speaking of the little Digimon, Misty heard her mumble something from her spot behind the humans. Misty turned to the amphibian. "Yes, Betamon?"

Betamon muttered her response.

Misty gave her partner an encouraging smile. "Sorry, could you please speak up?"

Betamon muttered her response slightly louder. But not loud enough. All Misty could hear was "Greymon."

"Something about Greymon?" Misty prodded. It had been a couple of days and outside of her apology to Ash, Betamon had spent most of that time away from the boys. The only party member she would willingly interact with was Misty, and even then her sentences would be few and far between.

"Well, if you have something to say, say it!" growled Greymon. "I'm sick and tired of this. I shouldn't have to go through Misty just to ask you a simple ques…GAHH!"

The theropod's rant came to a stop when he found himself held in place by a series of vines hanging from the trees. He tried to move back, but the plants were already tangled around his horns holding him in place.

Finally, Betamon spoke up. "I wanted to warn Greymon about the loose vines."

"Thanks for the heads up!" Greymon snarled sarcastically. He then began to jerk his head back and forth in an attempt to get free. As he did so the trees began to shake and various creatures fell from the canopy.

All of those creatures were bugs.

Back in the Pokémon World, there were two kinds of bugs: Pokémon bugs and non-Pokémon bugs. The non-Pokémon bugs were very tiny with the largest not even able to surpass the circumference of a human hand. Because even the smallest Pokémon, which clocked in at 0.04 ft., were too big to fit into that micro niche, small insects and arachnids had managed to survive unchallenged.

But there were no bug Pokémon in the Digital World. So, there wasn't any competition in biomes which allowed bugs to grow to larger sizes. As a result, the humans were seeing normally small bugs like flies, beetles, and pill bugs plop down onto their mount. Some of the bugs immediately flew off while others scuttled around in a mad attempt to get their bearings.

"Whoa!" Ash reached down to grab hold of a weevil the size of a Weedle. "I didn't think bugs could get this big unless they were Pokémon."

Greymon, who had finally snapped himself loose from the vines, looked over his shoulder. "They usually don't. There's only one place I know in the Digital World where bugs can get this big. We must be in the Heisenbug Jungle."

Mysterious Jungle Heisenbug Jungle

"Hey, Ash," Greymon gave his body a gentle shake. "Could you clear these guys off me? They're starting to itch."

"Sure," Ash smiled. He got to work sweeping his hand across Greymon's scales and pushing off all the new passengers. He could see that Betamon was also helping, though her method was to eat the bugs with her long tongue.

Ash grinned at Misty. "Check out the size of these guys, Misty! Is this place amazing or what!? Misty?"

From her spot on Greymon's back, Misty was frozen. Here skin had turned pale as a ghost and her eyes were wide like saucers. When Ash poked her in an attempt to get a reaction, she finally released an ear-piercing scream which sent all the bugs on Greymon and in the surrounding trees flying.

Later that Night

The group continued their trek through the jungle, much to the chagrin of a certain party member. Now that she knew about the local wildlife, Misty refused to get off Greymon's back until they stopped to camp for the night. In fact, she voted that they turn around and find a way around the jungle to avoid going through it. This suggestion was vetoed by both Ash and Greymon with Ash pointing out that the longer they took to get around the jungle, the more likely the other humans would be in danger.

Thus, Misty found herself sitting by a campfire in the middle of a bug infested jungle. Right now, Ash and Greymon had gone out to forage for food, namely something big enough to feed Greymon. This left Misty with her team of Staryu, who was in its ball, and Betamon. For her part, Betamon was enjoying the evening air and the ambient chirping of countless bugs.

As much as Misty wanted to let her partner enjoy the moment, she felt now was a good time to have a one-on-one chat. "Betamon?"

The amphibian looked to Misty. "Yes, ma'am?"

"I want to talk about what happened earlier, with the vines," Misty spoke as diplomatically as she could.

Betamon lowered her body. "I didn't mean for the bugs to fall on everyone."

"I know that," Misty suppressed a shiver from the memory. "I'm not blaming you for that. But it could have been avoided if you spoke up. You don't have to be afraid of Greymon."

"Greymon's intimidating," Betamon quietly responded.

"Greymon is also our teammate. You can't hide from him forever," Misty sighed. "Betamon, I may have just met you, but I can tell you're shy. I'm not saying that's bad, but you do need to fight your fears at some point. Otherwise, we won't be able to work together."

"Well, what about your fear?" Betamon said defensively. "You were trying to avoid your fear earlier."

"Yeah, well," Misty felt her face turn red. "What Ash said about getting to the other humans faster was right, so I'm facing my fear."

"You spent most of the ride with your ears covered," Betamon pointed out. It was true. Even from Betamon's spot behind Misty she could see that her trainer had her hands over her ears for the rest of the ride that day. "Did you also have your eyes closed? Because I don't think that's facing your fears."

"Okay, so I use some coping mechanisms," Misty admitted. "But that's because this is temporary. I just need to power through our jungle trip and everything will be fine. But you're going to have to work with Greymon for as long as we're fighting Milliniummon. I know Greymon is big, but he's not a bad person."

For a couple of minutes, Misty let Betamon stare into the campfire. "It's not just Greymon," Betamon finally said. "It's Digimon in general."

"Can you tell me why?" Misty was by no means a counselor. But she remembered the relief of having someone like her parents or a friend to listen to her when she was anxious about something. Perhaps she could provide Betamon that much needed ear.

"I think it has something to do with my first memories," Betamon then took a deep breath and began to relay what she could recall.

It is common knowledge in the Digital World that once one is reborn, memories of their past life are lost. Though many Digimon have attempted to recover these memories in quests to seek enlightenment, very few are successful. Fewer still hatch with memories of one of their past lives.

Given how sought out such memories are, one would think that these Digimon were blessed. However, without context or life experiences to help interpret these flashbacks these Digimon are no wiser than their peers. Rather, they bear deep scars from past events they can't explain.

A Long Time Ago

Once upon a time the Digital World was an ever-expanding land which grew and evolved with its citizenry. Now it was a shadow of its former self. The manifestation of Milliniummon had taxed the land. The Digimon's mere presence both reverted and rapidly aged the earth itself making it difficult for life to take hold. As a result, the world was dying.

In a bid for survival, various Digimon grouped together and formed eight kingdoms. The kingdoms would share wealth amongst their populations while fighting rival factions for the dwindling resources. Such fighting required stronger and stronger Digimon. In order to keep up with the increasing steaks, many Digimon employed the most primal skill in their coding: absorbing the data of fallen Digimon.

Which brings us to today's hunt.

One would think that hunting down a legendary mega leveled Digimon would be suicide. But when that Digimon was nicknamed "The Gentle Giant of the Sea," then a hunter would be foolish not to pursue. After all, what did you have to lose against a powerful Digimon who hardly fought back?

"Steady! Aim! Fire!"

An aggravated roar echoed throughout the sea. Its source was a wild, mega level Digimon. Achieving mega level was a rare feat for any Digimon and while civilized Digimon found some alternative methods of raising their levels, wild Digimon only had one: consumption.

Since nature rewarded the blood thirsty, most wild Digimon had grown to be aggressive. But even then, there were some Digimon who remained peaceful by programming. These Digimon Digivolved by living for countless years and slowly absorbing accumulating data. They may have still fought and absorbed other Digimon, but only as a means of self-defense.

Despite all odds, this passive Digimon was able to make it to the mega level. All it wanted was to swim around unbothered. But that was no longer an option.

Now wherever this Digimon went there were swarms of enemy Digimon. Hungry and desperate they would descend on the wild Digimon. Such was the case now. The wild Digimon was surrounded by a fleet of armed ships. The crew of each ship would take turns pelting her with attacks or firing chained harpoons into her sides to prevent her from escaping.

At first the wild Digimon tried swimming away, but crewmembers who could also swim would just herd her back to the ships. Eventually they were able to bring her up to the surface where the attacks would commence. At first the wild Digimon thrashed around in an attempt to shake off her hunters, but it was now use.

Finally, the wild Digimon release a loud cry. The force of the roar knocked the hunters back with the added side effect of draining their fighting spirits. Taking advantage of her pursuers' weakened state, the wild Digimon dived down and swam away.

After what felt like a long swim, the wild Digimon found a cove of rocks to hide in while she rested and licked her wounds. It was only when she finished pulling herself ashore that the Digimon realized she was not alone. Sharing her respite were several other Digimon and a small group of creatures she had never seen before. One of those creatures stood up and began to approach her.

The wild Digimon tried to dive back into the ocean, but its energy was spent. All it could do was give the creature a warning hiss as it approached. For a moment the other creatures and Digimon rose up to battle, but the lead creature just raised an arm. This action resulted in the rest of the creature's team relaxing, though their eyes were now centered on the wild Digimon.

The lead creature continued forwards, not intimidated by the wild Digimon's hissing. He climbed up a rock and began to survey the wild Digimon. After a few minutes of assessments, the creature waved its hand around and motioned to several different spots on the wild Digimon. Like a pack of trained Gaogamon, the rest of the creatures and Digimon rushed at the wild Digimon.

In response to this sudden movement, the wild Digimon began to roar and thrash. Its convulsions were halted by some of the larger Digimon holding it down. Suddenly the wild Digimon felt a sharp pain at her sides. She roared and flailed a bit more before using up what little energy she had left.

The lead creature leapt down from its perch and walked up to the wild Digimon. The wild Digimon closed its eyes, fearing what would happen next.

It did not expect the creature to place some fish next to her mouth.

Smelling the fish, the wild Digimon cracked open an eye. Before her stood the creature, fish in hand. Behind him she could see some of the non-Digimon creatures put down the harpoons that were wedged into her flesh. Harpoons that they just removed.

Too weak to fight or think, the wild Digimon accepted the fish and even allowed the lead creature to pat her muzzle. It was odd. This may have been the first time someone touched her gently.

Not as Long Ago

Despite being hatched in a fishing village, Betamon always held a great fear of ships and fisher Digimon. Actually, other Digimon in general intimidated her no matter the profession. So, when she learned that she was a chosen Digimon who had to work with other Digimon to save the world from Digimon who actually wanted to hurt her, Betamon's natural nervousness turned into pure social anxiety.

Now here Betamon was, in Orcamon's office, waiting to be introduced and then shackled to a complete stranger. While all the other Digimon were ecstatic at the news of the human's arrival, Betamon just felt her stomach twist in knots over and over again.

When the door finally opened, Betamon bolted under the desk. It was stupid, but at the moment Betamon just wanted to do anything to delay the inevitable.

"Betamon," Orcamon's voice came from the door. "Come out. You are being very rude."

"Is she under the desk?" It was a new voice. One younger and more feminine then Orcamon's.

Betamon shivered for a moment. She listened as the human made her way around the desk to peer down at her.

The human smiled and reached down. For a moment, Betamon wanted to back away. But with the back of the desk blocking her escape, Betamon was forced to deal with the creature in front of her. She closed her eyes, not wanting to face the situation.

But then Betamon felt her hands. The touch was alien, yet familiar. Gentle.

Present Day

Once Betamon concluded her story, Misty just stared at her partner. "You really remember your past life?"

Betamon shook her head. "Just bits and pieces. It's also very blurry. That memory from the cove is the most vivid, but after I arrived there everything gets hazy."

Which means that asking follow up questions on the first human and his team was probably a lost cause. Not that it mattered at the moment. Misty's current priority was to get Betamon comfortable with Greymon, Ash, and any of the other teammates that they picked up. "Betamon, I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, but you shouldn't be afraid of Greymon because of what other Digimon tried to do to you."

Before Betamon could respond, a loud series of THUMPS announced Greymon's and Ash's returns. Seeing the large dinosaur, Betamon quickly scuttled behind Misty. Misty sighed at the lack of progress, and then grimaced after seeing what Greymon was carrying.

In Greymon's jaws was a still squirming millipede the size of a Tauros. The giant bug was wiggling and flopping every which way in an attempt to escape the vice grip of Greymon's teeth, but to no avail. Greymon didn't even looked like he felt any of the arthropod's attempts to hit its captor. He just chose a spot by the fire, sat down, and began to chew.

Ash came around the dinosaur before bug parts could start raining on him. He offered Misty some Pinab Berry looking fruit. "I couldn't get any fish, but I found fruit."

Misty's eyes were hypnotically glued to Greymon's now dead (yet still occasionally moving) meal. "Thanks, but I think I've lost my appetite."

Shrugging, Ash took a spot next to Misty and watched Greymon. "I wonder if there are bug Digimon."

Thanks for the nightmares, Ash. "If there are, I hope they don't get as big as that millipede."

"Actually, we can get way bigger!"

"Then here's hoping we don't meet any," Misty shuddered. Suddenly Misty's body stiffened in realization. If Betamon and Ash were to her sides, and Greymon was in front of her, then why did that voice come from behind her?

Slowly, Misty turned around. Standing behind her was a Ladyba-like beetle the size of a rookie Digimon. It had large, compound, green eyes and spikes jetting out from the spots on its shell. The beetle waved its front claws at the humans. "Hello!"

That was more than enough to set Misty off. She shot up to her feet and screamed. In a bid to put to put as much distance between herself and the oversized bug, she backed away and into a tree. Unfortunately for Misty, the tree was not uninhabited.

No sooner had Misty backed into the tree that she felt something wiggle behind her. Backing away from the trunk Misty turned and saw the source. It was another bug. This one was more Caterpie-like (gross) with a sideways beak and purple claws for legs. The larva rubbed its head and spoke to Misty. "Pardon me, ma'am."

Misty continued to scream. She tried backing away from the second bug but tripped over a third bug.

This bug was a larger, yellow larva with black stripes across its eyeless face. The third bug turned its head to stare at Misty (assuming it could stare) and opened its pointed beak to screech. "Skree!"

Scrambling to her feat, Misty found herself next to Ash. She seized his shoulders and put him in front of herself as a makeshift shield. "What are those things?!"

To answer Misty's reasonable inquiry, Ash brought out his Digivice and pointed it at the creepy Ladyba. "Tentomon, rookie level. It has an inquisitive personality and loves nature. It can attack with electricity using its Super Shocker."

Ash then scanned the green larva. "Wormmon, also rookie level. These guys are weak and timid but can fight using their Sticky Net attack."

Finally, Ash scanned the yellow larva. "Kunemon, still rookie level. The stripes on its face act as eyes. Its attack, Electric Thread, is a mix of the other two guy's attacks."

"Pardon the intrusion," spoke the Tentomon. "We come in peace."

"It's alright. Nice to meet you guys," Ash said as if he wasn't talking with a gross, oversized insect.

"Likewise. You see we are scouts from a local hive," Tentomon explained. "We heard some stomping and trees falling earlier, so we believed that a new champion was in the area. Since a new champion could be dangerous, my team and I were sent to scoop it out. Imagine our shock when we found not only a Greymon, but a Greymon giving a ride to a Betamon and two shaved, talking monkeys!"

"Uh, we're not monkeys. We're humans," Ash corrected.

"Oh, you're humans," acknowledged the Tentomon.

"That makes a lot more sense," nodded Wormmon.

"Ke kew," confirmed Kunemon

…

"YOU'RE HUMANS!" exclaimed Tentomon waving his arms about.

"Like the one who defeated Milliniummon?!" Wormmon leapt in the air.

"Skree!" Kunemon midsection arched in shock.

"Everyone! Huddle!" At Tentomon's command the other two bugs joined him in a circle. They spoke in quick whispers. Every so often one of them would look up from the huddle before diving back in. Finally, the group broke apart.

"So, do you guys like camping?" asked the Tentomon.

Ash and Misty blinked at this random question. "Camping's fine," Ash responded.

"Would you prefer a roof over your heads?" inquired the Wormmon.

Misty began to feel her stomach sink.

Ash shrugged. "I guess that would be nice."

"Then have we got a deal for you!" exclaimed Tentomon. "You see we've got a bit of a pest control problem back at our hive."

"The legends say that the human and his team were able to maintain the balance between wild and civilized Digimon," Wormmon explained. "If you lend us you're expertise we can give you food, shelter, and tell you the quickest way through the jungle to wherever you're going."

"Kew ke kew!" Kunemon helpfully added on.

Before Misty had a chance to process this proposition, Ash answered for the team. "That's great! Of course, we'll help you guys!"

Dang it, Ash! Don't speak for everyone! Misty groaned. "Yeah, I guess we'll help. But I'll need Ash to do something for me."

Ash looked back at Misty and blinked. "Uh, sure. What?"

One Walk Later

Misty trembled on her spot on Greymon's back. Every buzz could have been an oversized menace. Every hiss was the call from a sin against nature. Every stomping footstep brought her closer to the den of her nightmares.

"Do you see anything yet?" Misty asked.

"Well, there are more bugs around here," Ash responded, his voice more awkward than enthusiastic.

"Yeah, I can hear them," Misty shivered. "How about the hive, can you see it?"

"Nope, just more plants and bugs. There are some webs with bugs tied up in them," Ash narrated.

"That's our week's dinner," Wormmon called from Greymon's head.

"I think I see a small creek too, so there's that," Ash continued.

"You know," The voice of the Tentomon helpfully chimed in. "You could just open your eyes. You'd have a much better view of our lovely jungle that way."

Misty's eyelids refused to budge. "Maybe I don't want to have a better view."

If Misty was going to be forced deeper into bug country, then she was going to do it blind. If you can't see it, it can't scare you. Right?

Suddenly Misty felt something crawl up her leg.

"Look out, Misty!" Ash exclaimed. "There's a big bug on your leg!"

"AHHHH!" Misty's eyes snapped open. She started to swat at her leg, only to find that the bug she felt was absent. Misty then looked up to see Ash grinning at her, his fingers wiggling in a bug crawling motion.

"Got yaAAAA!" Ash's victory was cut short by Misty grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him violently.

"THAT WASN'T FUNNY!" Misty yelled, teeth gnashing.

"I'm having second thoughts about this plan," Wormmon commented, his antenna drooping in concern.

From his spot next to Wormmon, Kunemon nodded its head. "Kew."

"Well, it's too late to go back now," Tentomon responded. "Because we have arrived!"

Misty stopped shaking Ash to see what Tentomon was talking about. She immediately regretted it.

Before her was what she could only describe as a giant mound of nearly solid goo sitting at the base of a mountain. The structure was slimy, covered in holes, and had a slight glow emanated from parts of it attracting smaller bugs. From around the mound Misty could see even more webs. Some of the webs held more wrapped up bugs (and probably some other animals) while others were more decorative acting as curtains and hammocks.

To top off this spine crawling scenery, there were even more bug Digimon. There were a pair of green Kunemon who were conversing outside one of the entrances. Above them Misty could see some Beedrill looking Digimon repairing one of the holes with the assistance of a large, blue beetle that resembled a Heracross. Misty could also see some of the other members of the species which made up the scouting party crawling, chirping, and waving their weird antenna around.

Nasty, gross, filthy, yuck. Misty could just feel the bile try and creep its way up her throat.

"Wait out here," ordered the Tentomon. "We'll go inside and grab the queen." With that the scouts scuttled inside the hive leaving Misty, Ash, and their Digimon to wait.

Ash took out his Digivice to scan. "Let's take a look at these guys. The green Kunemon are called DoKunemon, rookie level. Very poisonous. The Beedrills are Fanbeemon, also rookies. They're supposed to be protective of their homes. And the blue guys are KoKabutarimon, rookie level. They're pretty strong, but very gentle. I don't get why you're so afraid, Misty. They're all kind of cute."

Misty made a face. "You and I have very different definitions of 'cute,' Ketchum."

As Misty hopped down off of Greymon, she caught a look at Betamon watching her. Meeting her partner's eyes, Misty began to blush. So much for her speech on facing your fears.

"Ah, hem," Misty's stare was broken by the sound of Tentomon clearing his throat. She switched her attention back to the hive where she could see the beetle standing to the side of one of the larger holes. He motioned his foreclaws to a large entrance framed with torches. "Presenting the queen of our humble hive, Butterflymon!"

As Tentomon finished his announcement, a new Digimon stepped out from hole. This Digimon was as tall as an adult human and was almost completely concealed in yellow armor. The non-armored portions consisted of her purple and white antenna, green eyes, and large, elegant purple and white wings on her back. Unlike the other insectoid Digimon scurrying around and into the hive, the queen walked with an air of dignity which reminded Misty of an aristocrat.

"Butterflymon, armor level," Ash read off his Digivice. "It says here they are peaceful Digimon who live in warm environments and use a Sweet Pheromone to confuse their opponents."

"Should we bow?" Misty whispered. Bug or not, she was the queen and Misty did not want to offend.

Evidently, Butterflymon heard Misty. "There is no need for that. I am not actual royalty. Just the leader of my hive," Butterflymon spoke with a calm yet controlled voice. The kind that Misty would image coming from a high-class lady. "Welcome, humans. I understand you have more pressing issues to attend to, but I must humbly request your aide. Would you be willing to assist?"

"Depends on what you need," Greymon gruffly responded. "I need to keep these kids moving, so if you need us for anything longer than a day or two, you're out of luck."

Butterflymon nodded her head. "Fair enough. Since the fall of the Jungle Troopers, this hive has been passed down from insect Digimon to insect Digimon. We have used it as a nursery to hatch our eggs and rest stop for travelers such as yourself. Since we are in the middle of the Heisenbug Jungle, we have learned to live with various wild Digimon. Up until recently we lived in peace with the local swarm, a Snimon and its Yanmamon. But several weeks ago, a new, stronger swarm of Kuwagamon came in and chased the old swarm away."

"What's a Kuwagamon?" asked Ash.

"Let's use the Digivices to find out," Misty took out her Digivice and spoke the Digimon's name. A hologram then popped up displaying a large, red beetle with long, clawed arms and Pinsir pincers around its fanged mouth. Wonderful, it's not like Misty had enough nightmares for the evening. "Kuwagamon, champion level. They are protected by hard shells and use their claws to either constrict or slice their prey using their Scissor Claw attack."

"Whoa," Ash marveled at the hologram. "I thought we needed the Digimon to be in front of us to scan it."

"You can use the microphone to look up Digimon too," Misty explained. "I was talking with some of the other humans in the chat about it and some of the other Digivice features. Haven't you been reading the chats?"

Ash scowled. "No."

"You can't avoid them forever, Ash," Misty sighed. As far as Misty was concerned, the faster their party arrived at the temple, the faster they could find some way to clear the air between Ash and this Gary guy.

"So, do you want us to clear out the new tenants?" Greymon asked, eyeing the hologram.

Butterflymon nodded. "Essentially. As you can probably tell by looking at our hive's holes, the new swarm has been harder to get along with. Back in the day we had higher numbers to help deal with new wild Digimon. But since most of the jungle's inhabitants have left to help the war we have been scrapping by. I know you can't stay to help indefinitely, but if you can just scare away the current swarm it can buy us time to repair the hive."

Ash grinned at the queen. "Just lead the way! Greymon and I will clear out the Kuwagamon in no time! And Misty and Betamon can, uh…"

Catching the questioning look in Ash's face, Misty intervened. "Betamon and I will just stay here. Outside of the hive." Entomophobia aside, Betamon wouldn't be much help if she couldn't Digivolve. Sure, she and Staryu could combo and help keep one champion stalled, but a whole swarm? It was better to just let the talking Tyrantrum go Pinsir stomping.

Ash

After getting Misty and Betamon set up outside the hive, Ash, Greymon, and Butterflymon set off to ambush the Kuwagamon. Personally, Ash couldn't wrap his head around her phobia. Most of the bug Pokémon back home were friendly! Well, at least the one's Professor Oak allowed him and the other kids to handle. The local Beedrill swarms were quick to sting first, ask questions later if slightly angered, and then there were Venomoths which could poison you if you touched their wings. Oh, there was also that one time that a swarm of migrating Yanma fly by town and shattered everyone's windows, and…

Okay, so maybe some of her fear was warranted.

But the hive's residents weren't untamed Pokémon. They were all very accommodating, checking on the group before the hunt, offering them various tips on fighting bug Digimon, and even inviting Misty inside the hive. Misty nervously, but politely, turned down this offer. Her loss. When Greymon was done with the swarm, Ash was so going to take that invitation. He'd have to be crazy to pass up a chance to see the inside of a giant bug hive!

"The Kuwagamon are up ahead," Butterflymon informed the duo. Her antenna twitched. "I can smell them."

Ash leaned down as Greymon picked up speed. According to the Digimon at the hive, Kuwagamon were close ranged fighters. He just had to remember what he was taught at the Oak Laboratory.

Back During Training

"Wow," Gary looked up from his battle simulator screen. "I came at your Bulbasaur with an Onix, and you still managed to lose. It's like you have some hidden anti-talent."

End Flashback

Maybe he should focus on the words of wisdom from a more helpful Oak.

Back During Training (again)

"Now remember," Professor Oak tapped some drawings on a blackboard depicting muscular Pokémon. "Offensive Pokémon attacks can be divided into two categories: regular attacks and special attacks. Pokémon who specializes in regular attacks tend to prefer close combat. Now, while I encourage you to assess and come up with your own plans, one stratagem I would recommend against these kinds of opponents would be using ranged special attacks. This will not only chip away at your opponent's health but keep your Pokémon away from their strikes."

End Flashback Number Two

From what Ash had observed Greymon was more of a physical brawler. But his Nova Blast was defiantly a strong ranged attack. Ash spoke to his partner. "Greymon, when you see the Kuwagamon, I want you to scare them off with your Nova Blast."

"Easy!" growled Greymon.

"There!" called out Butterflymon.

Up ahead was some kind of rock or mound. It was too dark for Ash to be sure, but both of the Digimon must have had better night vision because Greymon had no problems aiming his attacks.

"Nova Blast!" roared the dinosaur. His mouth opened to release a powerful fire blast. Once the blast made contact with the mound, Ash could see the silhouettes of various large monsters take to the sky. Most of them flew around overhead. Finally, one of the beetles decided to take a chance and dive bombed Greymon.

"Not enough for you?" Flames built up in Greymon's mouth. "Fine! Nova Blast!"

The massive fireball hit its target head on. The Kuwagamon gave out a pained screech right before it plummeted into the dirt. Whether to avenge its comrade or because it thought is saw an opening, another Kuwagamon dived.

"I'll take care of this one. Sweet Pheromone!" announced Butterflymon. She flew up to the Kuwagamon and began rapidly flapping her wings. As she did so her wings released white spores which flew at the Kuwagamon. The Kuwagamon groaned and began to fly more erratically.

While Butterflymon was taking care of the second Kuwagamon, a third Kuwagamon zoomed past her. Its jaws opened wide as it flew towards Greymon.

"Hang on!" Greymon called back to Ash. The Kuwagamon was too fast to hit with a Nova Blast, so Greymon swung his body around. Before the Kuwagamon could pull up, its face was bashed with Greymon's muscular tail sending it flying across the ground.

The battle didn't end there. The Kuwagamon brought its arms and legs down to catch itself before hitting the ground. It slid across the field for a bit before coming to a halt. The beetle then charged at Greymon, jumping over and dodging the Nova Blast sent its way.

Once the Kuwagamon was close enough, it pounced on Greymon and began to grapple the dinosaur. From his spot on Greymon's back, Ash held on while Greymon began to thrash in an attempt to get free. Ash's eyes darted around. For now, the bug was too focused on Greymon to notice the boy, but it would only be a matter of time before those snapping jaws would make its way to him.

Wait, the jaws!

Gripping his partner with his legs and one of his hands, Ash freed up his other hand to reach into his backpack. While he left most of the camping supplies with Misty, he made sure to bring some supplies that he might have needed for the hunt. After a bit of rummaging Ash's hand grabbed an item: a lantern. The lantern was small enough to fit into his pack, but large enough for what he was about to do.

Ash took the lantern and chucked in straight into the Kuwagamon's open mouth. The effect was almost instantaneous. The Kuwagamon, not expecting the sudden object to be lodged in its narrow throat, began to choke. As the beetle began to gag, its grip loosened allowing Greymon more room to fight back.

Taking advantage of his opponent's lapse, Greymon used his skull to shove him back and fire a Nova Blast in its face. The force and heat of the flames overwhelmed the Kuwagamon who screeched and burst into data.

"Alright!" Ash slid off Greymon's back and grabbed the new Digi-egg. Seeing the scrappiest member of their swarm defeated, the rest of the Kuwagamon flew off.

"Hey Butterflymon!" Ash called to the hive's queen and held up the egg. "We defeated their leader. Mission accomplished!"

But Butterflymon didn't look relieved. "That wasn't the swarm's leader."

"Huh?" Ash shared a confused look with Greymon. "Then where is the leader?"

"It wasn't with the rest of the Kuwagamon, which might mean…" Suddenly Butterflymon darted off back to the hive with Ash and Greymon hot on her heels.

Misty

After Ash and his party left to go on a bug hunt, Misty set up a small campsite by the hive. While she could appreciate her hosts' invitation to join them inside, Misty was pretty sure her already weak façade of composure would completely shatter upon entry.

Sitting next to her, Misty could feel Betamon napping in peace. While her partner was apprehensive about letting any of the hive residents near her, she held no qualms about snacking on some of the bugs that were offered for a late supper.

Taking a que from her partner, Misty leaned back on to her sleeping bag. While she was concerned about Ash, Greymon was clearly an apex predator who wouldn't have many issues fighting. All Misty and Betamon could do for now was try and filter out their uncomfortable surroundings and rest.

Before Misty could fall asleep, there was a loud THUMP. She didn't just hear it, she could feel in. Misty and Betamon jolted up. Both the jungle and the hive showed no visible signs of disturbance, but on the auditory side something was amiss.

Misty could hear a loud commotion echo from within the hive. There were various scraping and shouting soon joined by squishing and zapping. Curiosity over coming disgust, Misty crept closer to the entrance.

No sooner had Misty looked down the tunnel then she leapt back and screamed. A large crowd of the hive's residents came spilling out from the tunnel and into the camping site. All the different larva, bees, and beetles from before were evacuating as if the hive was set ablaze and they weren't alone. In the arms of the rookies were eggs and smaller Digimon. The smaller Digimon resembled various slimes and bagworms and were whimpering and crying like infants removed from their cribs.

Trying to figure out what was happening, Misty took out her Digivice and scanned the new Digimon. "Minomon, Montimon, Puroromon, Pupumon, Pabumon, and Leafmon. They're all either Fresh or In-Training Digimon who tend to evolve into bug Digimon."

Misty frowned at the data in front of her. These guys were bringing out infants, not a good sign. Finding a Fanbeemon at the entrance directing the evacuees, Misty asked her what was going on.

"It's terrible, Miss," responded the Fanbeemon. "One of the Kuwagamon was still hungry and tunneled into the hive! He came out in our nursery and started eating the eggs and small ones!"

This news caused Misty to pale. She was no fan of bugs, but the cries of scared babies were quickly overriding her fear with concern. "Is there anything I can do?"

"We've got most of the larva and eggs," responded the Fanbeemon. "But there was a group that stayed behind to hold off the invader and I don't see them out here. They must still be inside with the rest of the eggs!"

A part of Misty wanted some of the other bugs in the crowd to volunteer to go and fetch the remaining eggs and defenders. But everyone in the evacuated crowded looked panicked, tired, and scared. They already had their claws full trying to calm and comfort the hatchlings and each other. "I'll go in."

Betamon looked up. "Misty?"

"It's my job," Misty reasoned. "I was brought here to help this world and that's what I'm going to do."

With that, Misty took a torch from one of the holsters outside the entrance and ventured into the hive.

The Hive

The hive did not disappoint. It was every bit as disgusting as Misty imagined. Tunnels chewed out from the ground, walls coded in slime, holes covered fixtures of wax, and the occasional webbed up bug were regular fixtures in the narrow chasm of dens. Misty could have puked. But instead, she marched on.

Her torch was aided by a slight bioluminescence that was caked into the slime of the walls. But her real guide was noise. As Misty navigated the tunnels, she could hear the zapping and the screeching of the stragglers against the intruder guide her forward. She could also hear the squishing of four claws tap the slimy ground behind her.

"This is going to be dangerous," Misty told Betamon. "This Digimon isn't going to be like Greymon, he will try to hurt us."

From behind her, Misty could hear the quite voice of Betamon tremble. "Where you go, I go."

It was a simple statement, but none the less appreciated.

Finally, Misty turned another corner and came into what she assumed was the nursery. The room was like a large earth dome with a wide, clean waterfall in the back and various pieces of broken furniture and comfort items that indicated this was a community space. Given how warm it was in here, Misty could only assume the slime in this room acted both as lighting and an incubating system for the eggs which were probably stored in the ripped-up honeycomb shelves against one of the walls. The room itself was lite up by a chandler which could have been mistaken for an oversized, green, loogie.

Looking around, Misty zeroed in on the group in the middle. The scouts. Misty could see both Tentomon and Kunemon peeking out from behind an overturned couch. With no enemy Digimon in sight, Misty Dashed forward with Betamon.

"Everyone's outside," Misty announced. "Let's grab the last eggs and go!"

Rather than respond, Tentomon's elytra raised up as sparks danced between the coverings. He pointed past Misty. "Behind you!"

A sudden chill ran down Misty's spine. In her rush to retrieve the scouts, she checked every area of the dome, except above her.

Turning around, Misty saw the intruder. Clinging to the wall above the door where she and Betamon entered was the largest bug she had ever seen. For the most part this Digimon resembled the Kuwagamon that was displayed on Ash's Digivice with two differences. First, the pincers around its jaws were longer and smoother, if a bit crocked. Second, there were several sharp crests which stuck out of the back of its skull.

"Electric Shock!" shouted Betamon as she shot out a bolt of lightning from her fin.

"Super Shocker!" a bolt from Tentomon joined Betamon's lightning along with a wad of electrified web that Kunemon spat out.

The three electric attacks merged together and hit the Kuwagamon. The bug hissed and dropped down from the wall. It then reared up on its hind legs and marched towards the group.

"Move!" Misty shouted at the rookies. The group fled through the furniture that littered room. The furniture only slowed the Kuwagamon down as it took time to smash every chair and table with its massive claws. This gave Misty some time to look up the new Kuwagamon variant on her Digivice.

"Kuwagamon X, champion level," she read. "The X-Antibody amplifies its hostility and gives it the move Crunch Arm where it follows up its slashes with a snap from its mandibles. X-Antibody?"

"The X-Antibody is a vaccine that arose during the Program X plague," Tentomon helpfully explained as he flew beside her. "Digimon with this vaccine not only survived the plague but were mutated into more powerful forms!"

Wonderful. Not only did Misty get to fight a giant bug, but a super strong, giant bug.

Well, it was either fight or get sliced. Misty tossed out her Poké Ball. "Staryu, I choose you!"

The ball snapped open to unleash the starfish warrior. "Staryu," Misty commanded. "We're doing the same thing we did with Shellmon. Keep your distance and use Swift! I'll return you when we grab the last eggs and exit!"

"Hi-yah!" Staryu began to Frisbee around the beetle stopping every so often to rapidly fire a volley of laser stars. Just like with Shellmon before, the Kuwagamon X began focusing its attacks on the agile starfish. If nothing else, the Digital World was an excellent practice ground for dodging maneuvers.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Misty and the rookies made their way over to one of the toppled honeycomb cabinets and fished out some eggs.

"Where's Wormmon?" Misty asked Tentomon.

"I don't know," he responded. "Didn't you see him outside?"

Maybe? There were several Wormmon outside, but for the life of her Misty couldn't tell if one of them was the scout or not. Instead, she just grabbed an egg and headed for the exit. "I don't know, let's go."

The group began to sneak away, when Misty spotted the lost Digimon on the other side of the room. Curled up and out cold. Making a face, Misty placed her egg into the pile of eggs that Tentomon was carrying.

"What are…" the Ladyba was about to question Misty, but she cut him off.

"Just go!" Misty hissed before she made a mad dash for the larva. Upon reaching her destination, Misty paused and grimaced. While a part of her felt bad for the knocked out Digimon, another part of her zeroed in on the twitching limbs and antenna. Why did bugs need so many legs?

This line of thinking was interrupted when Staryu came crashing down right next to Misty. Its central gem flashed and pinged indicating its low health. With no time to waste and an angry beetle staring directly at her, Misty quickly whipped out her Poké Ball to return Staryu. She then grabbed the curled up Wormmon and ran.

For its part, Kuwagamon X launched itself forward with a roar. Its pincers opened wide, ready to snap at Misty.

Suddenly a bright light flashed from Misty's belt as the Digivice hummed to life. The Kuwagamon X roared and backed off in surprise while on the other side of the room Betamon was incased in a cerulean energy filled sphere.

"Betamon Digivolve to…"

Within the sphere Betamon's fin folded into her head while her body stretched out to a more serpentine form. Her four stubby claws softened and flattened out into fins and her once green body turned blue with red stripes. At the tip of her tail a large, red fin flared out. Finally, a pair of webbed fins branched out from her now yellow cranium. The sphere burst open to reveal a new sea serpent whose head fins shot out like the hood of an angry Arbok.

"Seadramon!" hissed the new Digimon who wasted no time in darting forward to slam into Kuwagamon X.

Kuwagamon X roared at its new opponent and began to grab at it with its sharp claws. Seadramon just roared back and slid through the claws to start constricting the insect's body.

For a brief moment, Misty froze. Her mind flashed back to one of her earliest memories of a large, sleeping pair of jaws that she naively crawled into. Her sisters would tell her that she cried every time she passed by their aquarium's Gyarados tank for years after that incident. When Misty saw the blue serpent slither from the Digivolution field, that memory came flooding back, petrifying her.

Misty was finally knocked out of her stupor by the pained roars of Seadramon whom Kuwagamon X was now grabbing. Bad past experiences with sea serpents aside, Seadramon was Misty's partner and needed her help.

The water trainer finished running Wormmon back to the other scouts and took out her Digivice. "Seadramon, champion level," Misty read. "When in battle she'll either wrap herself around her opponent and squeeze them to death or freeze them with her Ice Blast."

Her mind racing, Misty scanned the room for something to help. She settled on the waterfall and began concocting a plan. She called out to her partner. "Seadramon! Try and get Kuwagamon into the water!"

The serpent loosened its grip in the direction of the waterfall. Taking the bait, the beetle stepped back and out of the Seadramon's coils. Then, lightning fast, Seadramon wiped its body around and pushed the Kuwagamon X into the water.

"Freeze him!" Misty called out.

Before the Kuwagamon X could escape the falls, Seadramon opened up her jaws and blasted the water with a powerful blizzard which instantly froze the water. "Ice Blast!"

Now trapped, the Kuwagamon couldn't stop Seadramon's incoming tail which snapped the bug's head off its shoulders. The decapitated head shattered upon impacting the ground with the rest of the body following suit.

Outside the Hive

A few minutes later the group emerged from the hive. They were met with loud cheers until Seadramon popped out which quickly transformed the applause into screams. After a few minutes of calming down the rest of the Digimon the hive residents began returning to their home.

While Tentomon filled the other Digimon in on what just happened and Kunemon looked for the hive's nurse to help Wormmon, Misty turned to Seadramon. "Seadramon, I wanted to say thank you."

The sea serpent bent down to nuzzle her trainer. "We're partners, I wasn't going to let you die."

Misty accepted the nuzzling and pat Seadramon on her snout. "Well, yeah. But I also wanted to thank you for helping me to get over my fear of sea serpents."

Seadramon's eyes widened. "You're afraid of sea serpents?"

"I had a bad experience with one when I was little," Misty explained. "But when I saw you facing your fear of getting close to other Digimon to save me, you inspired me to conquer my fear."

Seadramon blinked. "But the reason I was able to overcome my fear was that I saw you overcoming your fear of bugs to save Wormmon."

"I guess we inspired each other!" Misty giggled, leaning in to hug Seadramon's snout.

Seadramon chuckled. "I guess so."

"Misty!" The duo turned to see Ash, Greymon, and Butterflymon trample in from the jungle. "You've got to evacuate the hive there's…who's that?!"

"Oh her? This is Seadramon, Betamon's champion form," Misty proudly responded. She then went over to the campfire to pick up a red and black stripped egg. "She Digivolved to save the hive from this guy."

Butterfly accepted the egg and bowed her head. "You have my eternal gratitude."

"Oh, we don't really need that," Misty bashfully rubbed the back of her neck. "But we could use some more supplies and the fastest way to the desert."

"Consider it done," Butterflymon turned and pointed beyond the hive. "In that direction you'll find a river. If you follow it downstream it'll lead you straight to the Database Dunes Desert."

"It…It might be faster if we swim," Seadramon tepidly suggested. Seeing that all eyes were now on her, she crouched lower. If it wasn't for how big she became, she might have successfully hide behind Misty. As it was now, the large lake monster was just squirming behind a teenage girl. "G..Greymon, if you continue to carry everyone on your back on land, then I can carry everyone down the river. If that's okay with you."

Greymon blinked in surprise at being addressed by the shy snake. "Uh, sure. That works."

"Alright! Then we'll head on out," Ash declared before stifling a yawn. "Tomorrow."

"Feel free to stay the night, we should have a couple of spare rooms," offered Butterflymon.

Misty and Seadramon shared a look. "Thank you for your offer, but we think we'll just stay out her for the night."

Tired from momentarily putting aside their fears, the girl and sea monster fell asleep away from the bugs and the crowds under the starry sky.

AN: Misty, there's really no reason to fear bugs. The reason they have all of those legs is to hug you!

For the record, I'm imagining Staryu's Swift to be like the version in the Smash games. It's basically a machine gun.

Loch Ness Monster lovers rejoice! We have a Seadramon! This is the other reason I chose Betamon for Misty's partner. It is usually featured as Seadramon's rookie form. I chose Seadramon as Misty's champion as a reference to Gyarados who became her ace Pokémon after she left the main cast.

The giant non-Digimon bugs are not a part of any Digimon shows/games I'm aware of. I added them to the story both as a build up to the bug Digimon and as a reference to computer bugs.

The More You Know: Giant millipedes actually did exist. They were part of the genes Arthropleura and they predated the dinosaurs. These guys could also grow to be around 8 ft. long!

George Lucusing Note: Mostly when I go back and edit previous chapters it's just to fix things like grammar or missing words, but this time I had to fix Goh's Digivice. I mixed up Vermillion and Viridian. My bad.

Reader Response Recess:

The one who reads and writes:

The username for Goh comes from a phrase he used a couple times in the first few episodes of the English: "The future is in the palm of my hand!" Not sure if that was supposed to be a catch phrase, but it stood out to me.

May's username is in reference to her interests before the beginning of her journey. At first she just wanted to use a Pokémon journey as an excuse to see the world, thus the "Sight" part of her username. The "Flavor" part comes from her being a foodie.

I don't think Goh met Ash or Gary before the start of Journeys. If you're talking about the summer camp class, Ash slept in and Gary just wasn't there. If someone had used Gary's last name, then Goh and other members of the chat would have had more of a reaction.

As for Ash and Iris's abilities, we'll get there later.

And to Ashpoke55 and everyone else: Thank you for tuning in! God loves you and so do I!

Digimon Introduced

Seadramon: Champion, Data, Aquatic

Kuwagamon: Champion, Virus, Insectoid

Kuwagamon X: Champion, Virus, Insectoid

Tentomon: Rookie, Vaccine, Insectoid

Wormmon: Rookie, Free, Larva

Kunemon: Rookie, Virus, Larva

Butterflymon: Armor, Free, Insectoid

FanBeemon: Rookie, Virus, Insectoid

KoKabuterimon: Rookie, Virus, Insectoid

DoKunemon: Rookie, Virus, Larva

Minomon: In-Training, None, Larva

Puroromon: In-Training, None, Larva

Montimon: In-Training, None, Lesser

Pupumon: Fresh, None, Slime

Pabumon: Fresh, None, Slime

Leafmon: Fresh, None, Slime

Next Time: We will NOT have a full-blown chapter! Instead enjoy a short interlude as our heroes work on some travel arrangements.